Features of Combat-related Ocular Trauma in the Context of Modern Warfare

Serdiuk, V.M. and Klopotskaya, N.G. (2025) Features of Combat-related Ocular Trauma in the Context of Modern Warfare. Офтальмологія (Польща), 4 (28). pp. 23-25. ISSN 1505-2753

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Abstract

Introduction: Theincidence ofeyetrauma during armed conflictsvaries from0.5 to 13.0%. Evolution in warfaretactics has led to anti-personnelmines and variousexplosive devices, both improvised and manufactured, becoming the main causes ofeyecombat trauma in all military conflicts. The aim of the work was to analysethefeatures of providing ophthalmological carefor combat injuries in modern military operations. Material and methods: A retrospective analysis of the medical records of patients with combateyeinjuries who underwentexamination and treatment in our clinic from2014 to 2024 was conducted. During the anti-terrorist operation in 2014– 2021, we provided inpatient careto 1155 victims and performed 470 surgical interventions, which comprised 40% of all treated. A total of 530 patients with combat trauma received outpatient care. Since February 2022, in total 8300 patients with eye injuries have been treated in the hospital, 54% of whom required surgical intervention; more than 15,000 victims were consulted. Results. A comparative analysis shows an increase in the severity of injuries since 2022, i.e. since the beginning of full-scale war; first of all, a high rate of combined eye damage with other organs and systems, and an increase in the number of binocular injuries - from 34% in 2014– 2021 to 64% in a later period. Thefrequency of severe and verysevereinjuries in 2014– 2021 was 55%, and starting from 2022 – it was – 67%; in 13% of cases, theinjuryended in complete destruction of theeye. The main causes of combateyeinjuries were damage by shrapnel, debris, and gunpowder gases that fly apart as a result of an explosion. In thestructure of penetrating wounds, the most common cases werecases with multipleintraocular foreign bodies (54%), also in eyes with penetrating wounds there were traumatic cataracts of varying severity (47%), hemophthalmos (26%), retinal detachment (20%), prolapse of the inner membranes of the eye (9%), endophthalmitis (6%), and foreign bodies of the deep layers of the cornea (20%). Among surgical interventions in 2014– –2021, primary surgical treatment of penetrating wounds (35%), and combined interventions and vitreoretinal surgery (23%) prevailed. In 2022– 2024, primarysurgical treatment of penetrating wounds in thestructure of surgical interventions accounted for 28%, and combined interventions and vitreoretinal surgery 34%. Conclusions: polymorphism of pathological changes in combateyeinjuries and their combination with changes in other organs and structures necessitate an individual approach to thetype and scope of surgical intervention. Providing assistanceto such patients often requires thesurgeon to beready to perform a variety of surgical treatments and make adjustments to thescope of intervention directly during the operation, which is possible onlyin a highly specialised medical institution.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	DOI: 10.5114/oku/218003 https://www.ophthalmologypoland.com.pl/Issue-4-2025,15296
Uncontrolled Keywords:	eyeinjury, military trauma
Subjects:	Ophthalmology
Divisions:	Departments > Neurology, Neurosurgery and Ophthalmology
Depositing User:	Аліна Чеботарьова
Date Deposited:	02 Jul 2026 08:42
Last Modified:	02 Jul 2026 08:42
URI:	http://repo.dma.dp.ua/id/eprint/10143

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